Directed by: Damian McCarthy Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot Go Horror Rating: A Damian McCarthy is a damn directing wizard. From Caveat to Oddity to Hokum, I love his resume bigtime. Adam Scott is awesome as always (go fucking watch Severance if you haven't!) and the supports are also fantastic. I love the layers of mystery and the overall dark and jaded feel to it all. Folk horror done right just sticks with you and leaves you craving more. McCarthy and Scott deliver more than we could have hoped for and it's one of few movies so far this year that lived up to the hype.

Directed by: Ian Tuason Starring: Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michele Duquet Go Horror Rating: B Undertone is a great example of 'less is more' and it effectively uses sound (or lack thereof) to keep you feeling unsettled. Great setting and scares, and Nina Kiri's performance was genuine. I may not have loved how it ended but I was uneasy and alert the entire movie. That's exactly how you should feel with this type of film.

Directed by: Amy Wang Starring: Shirley Chen, McKenna Grace, Amelie Zilber Go Horror Rating: C A little cringey but likeable... There were some far-fetched depictions and the boldness of the movie didn't quite stick the landing. I can get behind the idea of teens fitting in and merging with people who they don't gel with, mainly out of internal feelings and pressure. I just don't need tone deaf dashes of racism and beauty standards to dictate the entire flow. Is it a body horror? Is it satire? Is it deep? Fucked if I know, but it's certainly worth watching even if it's premise is skin deep.

Directed by: Tommy Wirkola Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, Djimon Hounsou Go Horror Rating: C Another shark moviiiiiiiiiiie! This one was alright and that's about as far as I can take it. There may have been a few times I was rooting for the sharks but in the end, the movie was reasonably fun. The cast felt very average, even though I love me some Djimon Hounsou. Thrash won't stand out in the shark attack genre, let alone the survival horror realm. This movie likely hits some clearance shelves sooner rather than later but I still think it's watchable.

Directed by: Gavin Polone Starring: Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Malcolm McDowell Go Horror Rating: D I mean, I'm usually down with some trash-slasher stuff but this... this didn't even make it to first base. From the film's atrocious name to an awkward ending, there wasn't much meat on this bone whatsoever. I like Campbell in all of this, it's just too bad she fell victim to poor writing and a hollow plot. We endured a forgettable killer, uninspired kills and what appears to be a lead up to a sequel that I'm sure no one wants. Hopefully this is just a misfire by Polone and he bounces back with something proper.

Directed by: Mark Fischbach Starring: Mark Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker Go Horror Rating: C Full marks to Markiplier for his creativity and talents on this, it just didn't fully grip me. It's not to say this movie wasn't cool, I was just expecting a little more meat on the bone. I'm sold on the low-budget, claustrophobic horror... just not at over 2 hours. Anxious to see what Fischbach does next and very much appreciate the effort in this film.

1998 was an rockin' year for for video game releases, especially if you're now in the 35+ category. The N64, PS1, and Windows were dropping hit, after hit, after hit. There were certainly some bangers for Saturn, Dreamcast and both GB & GBC, too, but I didn't know too many people with those consoles so we'll focus on the first 3. For the N64 we got: 1080 Snowboarding Banjo-Kazooie F-Zero X Gex: Enter the Gecko Pokemon Stadium WWF Warzone NFL Blitz Turok 2: Seeds of Evil The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Mario Party Look, I still maintain that Cool Boarders 2 was better than 1080 but when you added the latter into a birthday party rotation, it was siiick! Pokemon Stadium being the first console Pokemon game (internationally) was awesome. I was never huge into portable consoles because I simply just liked bigger screens, so this was a gamechanger. NFL Blitz will go down as one of my favourite sports games of all time. It was revolutionary! I would love modern ports, or at least sports games with this style to be made more often. Mario Party may have been the true beginning of raging, familial battles. I still want to punch my cousin in the face for getting that 4th star in Rainbow Castle on his last turn of the game. For the PS1 we got: Resident Evil 2 Tekken 3 Parasite Eve Vigilante 8 Metal Gear Solid Spyro the Dragon MediEvil Tomb Raider III Suikoden II Tenchu: Stealth Assassins Resident Evil 2, easily in the top 3 games for the franchise. I mean, it only lost out to Metal Gear Solid for best Playstation game of the year. Both the original and the remake are excellent and ate up tons of my time as a kid. Parasite Eve, another legend in the horror realm from Playstation. We still haven't anything quite like it and I hope we eventually get a remake. Metal Gear Solid was a blast... there aren't many gamers, especially PS fans, that will tell you this game is anything less than honoured. Suikoden II, a noble Konami release that still holds up. For RPG lovers, this entry is one of the best in the series and required you to be a bit of a tactician. For Windows we got: StarCraft Unreal Rainbow Six Delta Force Grim Fandango Fallout 2 Half-Life Baldur's Gate I remember being so excited about StarCraft and hadn't looked forward to an RTS that much since Red Alert. It added to a genre I loved so much and was another excuse for me to drone in front of my PC. In the FPS sector, Unreal was... Unreal! Lots of memories playing it and even it's sequel on the original Xbox, Unreal 2: The Awakening. Even though the adjacent series Unreal Tournament is where I logged the most of my time, the original was all the rage on release. Now for the game that probably took up the vast majority of my time as a teen; Half-Life. Aside from playing the campaign countless times, it led to me being completely addicted to Team Fortress Classic and even Counter-Strike. To this day the Half-Life Umbrella is probably where I've logged the most hours. ------- These among other stellar games were unleashed to the public, sending gamers into a euphoric frenzy. Between Mario Party, RE2 and Half-Life, I barely saw the sun that year. It's shocking I didn't get the beetus, crushing big gulps by the litre and eating my local 7/11 damn near out of business. What an amazing time to be alive and capable of enjoying these titles as they came out. Gaming was evolving at such a rapid rate that these games always felt like we couldn't get any better. Nothing but time and good friends (and a Blockbuster!), no wonder people miss those days!

Directed by: Max Winkler, Ian Brennan Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Suzanna Son, Vicky Krieps Go Horror Rating: C We'll preface this rant/review by saying that Charlie Hunnam's performance was awesome. It may have taken an episode or two to accept his voice (Gotcha!... Gotcha again!), but I truly believe he nailed the 'role' (he shouldn't get roasted for Murphy's decisions or casting) and put everything he had into it. He's the main reason we stuck it through the series. Moving on... what. the. fuck. It was essentially 8 episodes of psychosexual bedlam with deficient storytelling. It's worth noting that I enjoyed Ratched and still enjoy American Horror Story, but when it comes to true crime (even if he takes liberties and fictionalizes it), Ryan Murphy just can't get his act together. Artsy, ragey, perverted insanity really only works well when you get to create something from scratch. It's entirely my fault for hoping there'd be more focus on the depravity and seriousness of Gein's atrocities, I just feel like the liberties taken in the show bordered on asinine. -"2 straws please", blue balls comments, serving human-meat to neighbours- The circle jerk of pop-culture and horror references was excessive. It's like listening to a hip-hop song where the artist just name drops other popular rappers for 3 minutes instead of having to write decent lyrics. We get it... in fact, most people familiar with Gein know his story's influence in modern horror, and how many movies drew inspiration from his crimes. It would have been a lot cooler if all of those references weren't jammed down our throat at every turn, but I guess we needed something to break up all the cross-dressing scenes. The way Murphy oversexualizes in the Monster series is weirder than Tarantino's foot fetish timeline. The best way I can explain this season is if it were the year 1999 and I was trying to download an Ed Gein documentary on Napster. What I would inevitably get would be what Netflix just released to the world. Maybe it's supposed to be a commentary on media manipulation, or some sort of 'we're the monster' take. If either or both of those ideas was the point, dialing down the sensationalism, even slightly, would have driven it home. I just found it monotonous and murky. It felt like it had so little confidence in itself that it defaulted to flooding the viewers with other scenes of horror icons. This is the 3rd instalment of the Monster series and by far the worst one. Barely worth recommending.

Looks like we've got ourselves a classic battle of vehicular combat legends. The 90's were an amazing time in the world, especially for video games. 1996 unleashed what would become an all-time great in the vehicular combat genre. Twisted Metal 2 (Sony Interactive, SingleTrac) had various drivers in modded vehicles battling it out in a winner-take-all tournament. The winner would see a single wish granted by returning heel 'Calypso', regardless of price, size, or reality. Unlike the first instalment in the series where contestants battled throughout L.A., this destruction derby is being fought all around the World. Not only do you get to fight Minion again, but a new boss 'Dark Tooth' has entered as the new end game. This release built on the success of the original with more intricate maps, better gameplay, and obvious graphical improvements. This series has some iconic characters that have stood the test of time. I was usually 'Thumper' or 'Road Kill' but some of the best fun I can remember was playing as 'Sweet Tooth'. It's hard to argue against 'Axel' being one of, if not the best characters this time around. He was just so satisfying to move around with. 'Outlaw 2' was also fun almost feeling like you were T-1000 chasing people down. In my opinion the best maps for Twisted Metal 2 are 'Paris' and 'New York'. In 1997 EGM ranked it 64th on their "100 Best Games of All Time" list, commenting that "The sheer amount of different vehicles, levels and weapons available at your disposal makes for awesome multiplayer matches." On to the great Vigilante 8 (Luxoflux). Released in 1998, the game is set in an alternate 1975. Australian terrorist Sid Burn is hired by OMAR (Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime) to dispose of all competing oil companies in the U.S. so that OMAR can establish an oil monopoly in the country. After hearing of reports of destruction by Sid's gang, the Coyotes, a kind-hearted trucker name 'Convoy' decides to take matters into his own hands, forming a group of his own, the Vigilantes, to combat and stop the tyranny of OMAR. Similar to TM2, there are various characters in modded vehicles with machine guns and other weapons that are found around the maps. Rockets, mines, mortars and more! via Nintendo Blast Unlike the Twisted Metal series, Vigilante 8 didn't have characters that stuck around in the mainstream. 'Y' the Alien and 'Torque' might be some of the most popular, although I was always a 'Chassey Blue' or 'Slick Clyde' main. Playing against 'Beezwax' drove me insane. The bees ruined my damn life even if the damage wasn't terrible in-game. Where Vigilante 8 really excelled was in the maps. Valley Farms, Hoover Dam, Ski Resort... ah man they were great. I actually think Casino City was the worst map in the game and even it was better than the top tier maps in Twisted Metal 2. The game was nominated for Best Playstation game at the 1998 CNET Gamecenter Awards, but lost out to Gran Turismo. Conclusion-burger Twisted Metal WINS = characters, plot, boss fights Vigilante 8 WINS = maps, multiplayer, weapons Both games have excellent story modes so I'd chop that up into a tie. As much as I love the story and characters for Twisted Metal 2, the map design, especially paired with multiplayer, is just too good in Vigilante 8. There was more intensity and crazier battles in my time playing Vigilante 8 compared to TM2, and the game just felt smoother and more complete. We declare the winner to be: Vigilante 8

Directed by: Phil Sgriccia, Bill Benz, Iain B. MacDonald, Bertie Ellwood Starring: Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Anthony Carrigan Go Horror Rating: C Cards on the table here, I actually liked the first season more than I did this one. That doesn't necessarily mean much because I think both seasons were decent at best. One of my favourite video game series of all time just feels like it got the shaft with this adaptation. Notable characters from this season were: John Doe, Sweet Tooth, Calypso, Mayhem, Dollface, Axel, and Dave Inferior characters from this season were: Quiet, Mr. Grimm, Vermin, Stu, Raven The show is corny and the action scenes weren't even entertaining in a comical way. I get that the show is supposed to be a mashed potato sandwich with comedy, horror, and action but I just didn't find that any of those 3 elements blended or fed off each other. Vehicular combat is a hard thing to film and pull off, so I can't bury the entirety of those action sequences, but it definitely felt C grade with a B budget. Elite killers from across the Divided States, the absolute best in the murder-filled wastelands, and no one can take out a fucking PT Cruiser with machine guns and rocket launchers?!? I'm almost positive a 9-year-old in a Fisher Price foot-car and a nerf gun could have done more damage than what these slayers were doing. Aside from the absurd car-fighting, the writing and acting were well below average. Mackie isn't winning any awards for his acting in this but he's goofy enough and confident enough to get through the shit script. I don't love the chemistry between the mains so thankfully we had some secondary characters help carry this season. Mayhem, Axel and Calyspo were fun to watch but Grimm and Vermin were terribly annoying and drove me insane. It just felt like everyone else was there... just... there. One part of the season that could have been a lot more tense was when Calypso unleashed the Apocalypse 9. I thought this was an awesome angle but it ended up tripping all over itself. The robotic killers went from terrifying to easily dispatched in an anticlimactic way. I just felt there needed to be more animosity and violence between the contestants and not PG conversations with zero moxie. Like Commodus in 'Gladiator', Calyspo had some tricks up his sleeve during the final arena battle. The only issue (aside from the dogshit car battle itself), was the big surprise... MINION! This battle should have been a lot more nutty but even though he was seemingly indestructible, he looked like a retro YTV character and didn't invoke enough terror. At the end of the season, I appreciated it on a very surface-level of entertainment. I am genuinely surprised at the general consensus for the show. I'm not excited for a third season but I will absolutely watch it whenever it does come out.